Elevator apparatus with control panel located within elevator hoistway

ABSTRACT

In an elevator apparatus, a control panel is disposed below a lowermost movement position of a proximity switch projecting from a car. The control panel is mounted on a hoistway wall through a mounting bracket at a position which is overlapped by a cross-section of the proximity switch projected in the ascending and descending directions of the car. Namely, the control panel is mounted by utilizing the space below the movement range of the proximity switch. Also, a gap is present between the surface of the hoistway wall and the control panel by the mounting bracket.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an elevator apparatus, and moreparticularly, to an elevator apparatus in which a control panel isinstalled within a hoistway.

BACKGROUND ART

In a conventional elevator apparatus, since a hoisting machine, acontrol panel and the like are installed in a machine room disposed atan upper portion of a hoistway, it is necessary to provide a space forthe machine room at an uppermost portion of a building. Therefore, theutility efficiency of the building is degraded and the height of thebuilding is increased.

In contrast, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.7-10434 discloses an elevator apparatus in which a hoisting machine anda control panel are disposed in an uppermost portion of a hoistway tothereby dispense with a machine room. Also, Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 7-10437 discloses an elevator apparatus in which ahoisting machine and a control panel are disposed in a bottom portion ofa hoistway to thereby dispense with a machine room. However, in theseelevator apparatuses, although the machine room may be dispensed with,it is possible that the height of the hoistway or the horizontalcross-sectional area of the hoistway may be increased.

Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-114481 discloses anelevator apparatus in which a control panel is disposed in a bottomportion of a hoistway. However, in this apparatus, in order to preventthe car from interfering with the control panel, a depression is formedon the bottom portion of the car. For this reason, the floor area of thecar is decreased.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In order to overcome the above-noted defect, an object of the presentinvention is to provide an elevator apparatus in which the height of abuilding may be reduced without providing any depression in a car andwhich can enhance the utility efficiency of a building.

According to the present invention, there is provided an elevatorapparatus comprising: a hoistway having a hoistway wall and a bottomportion; an ascending/descending body having a side wall portion facingthe hoistway wall and a car-mounted device projecting toward thehoistway wall from the side wall portion, the ascending/descending bodybeing raised and lowered within the hoistway; and a control panel forcontrolling the raising and lowering of the ascending/descending body,the control panel being disposed within the hoistway at a position thatis overlapped by a region projected from the car-mounted device in theascending/descending direction of the ascending/descending body, and outof the movement range of the car-mounted device in theascending/descending direction of the ascending/descending body.

Also, according to the present invention, there is provided an elevatorapparatus comprising: a hoistway having a hoistway wall and a bottomportion; an ascending/descending body for being raised and loweredwithin the hoistway; a hoistway device provided on the hoistway wall soas to project into the hoistway; and a control panel for controlling theraising/lowering of the ascending/descending body, the control panelbeing disposed within the hoistway at a position that is overlapped by aregion projected from the hoistway device in the ascending/descendingdirection of the ascending/descending body, and out of the range of thehoistway device installation region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of an elevator apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a primary part of the apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a positional relationship between the carshown in FIG. 2 and a buffer device when the car is positioned at thelowermost floor;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a primary part of an elevatorapparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an installation region for the controlpanel according to the first and the second embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an installation region for the controlpanel of an elevator apparatus according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of an elevator apparatusaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view showing the structure of a primarypart of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of an elevator apparatusaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 10.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of an elevator apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is avertical sectional view of the elevator apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3is a perspective view showing a primary part of the apparatus of FIG. 1.In the drawings, a car 2 which is an ascending/descending body for beingraised and lowered within a hoistway 1 is suspended at one end portionof a main rope 4. A counter-weight 3 also serving as anascending/descending body is suspended at the other end portion of themain rope 4. A pair of car guide rails 5 for guiding the vertical motionof the car 2 and a pair of weight guide rails 6 for guiding the verticalmotion of the counter-weight 3 are provided within the hoistway 1,respectively.

A buffer device 7 for receiving the car 2 in case of emergency isprovided at a bottom portion (pit portion) 1 b of the hoistway 1. FIG. 2shows a condition in which the car 2 is received by the buffer device 7.During normal operation, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the car 2 reachesthe lowermost floor, a gap exists between the car 2 and the bufferdevice 7.

A plurality of landing plates 9 are mounted through mounting arms 8 onthe car guide rail 5. A proximity switch 10 is provided as car-mounteddevice facing the landing plates 9 at a side wall portion 2 a of the car2 facing a hoistway wall 1 a. The proximity switch 10 projects towardthe facing hoistway wall 1 a from the side wall portion 2 a.

A landing device 11 for detecting the position in theascending/descending direction of the car 2 is composed of the landingplate 9 and the proximity switch 10. The landing plates 9 are disposedat of predetermined heights within the hoistway 1 depending upon theirintended use. The proximity switch 10 outputs a signal indicating thecoupling/uncoupling with the landing plate 9 to thereby detect theheight of the car 2 within the hoistway 1. The deceleration point whenthe car 2 is being raised or lowered, the landing position when the car2 reaches a floor or the like may be detected according to this detectedposition.

A control panel 12 is disposed below the lowermost movement position ofthe proximity switch 10 as shown in FIG. 2. The control panel 12 isprovided at the hoistway wall 1 a through a mounting bracket 13 at aposition that is overlapped by the region that is projected from theproximity switch 10 in the ascending/descending direction of the car 2as shown in FIG. 1. Also, a gap is formed between the surface of thehoistway wall 1 a and the control panel 12 by the mounting bracket 13. Avariety of control devices (not shown) for controlling the drive of theelevator apparatus are provided in the control panel 12. Also, thecontrol panel 12 is connected to each piece of equipment of the elevatorapparatus through power lines and signal lines (none of which areshown).

In such an elevator apparatus, the control panel 12 is provided belowthe lowermost point of travel of the proximity switch 10 at a positionwhere it does not interfere with the proximity switch 10, and (inaddition) at the position that is overlapped by the region projectedfrom the proximity switch 10 in the ascending/descending direction ofthe car 2. Accordingly, the utility efficiency of the building may beenhanced by effectively utilizing a vacant space within the hoistway 1,and at the same time, the machine room may be dispensed with to decreasethe height of the building. Moreover, since the vacant space within thehoistway 1 is effectively utilized, it is unnecessary to provide arecess in the car 2. It is therefore unnecessary to reduce the floorarea of the cage.

Also, since the control panel 12 is installed on the hoistway wall 1 athrough the mounting bracket 13 with a space between the bottom portion1 b of the hoistway 1 and the lower portion of the control panel 12,even if water accumulates in the bottom portion 1 b, the control panel12 and the mounting bracket 13 are prevented from being immersed in thewater.

Furthermore, since a gap is formed between the surface of the hoistwaywall 1 a and the control panel 12 by the mounting bracket 13, thecontrol panel 12 is prevented from being wet by water falling down thehoistway wall 1 a.

Furthermore, since a worker may enter the bottom portion 1 b and maywork on the control panel 12 with ease, the maintenance workability isalso enhanced.

Second Embodiment

Further, in the above-described example, the control panel 12 isdisposed below the lowermost point of travel of the proximity switch 10.However, as shown in FIG. 5, the control panel 12 may be disposed abovethe uppermost point of travel of the proximity switch 10 (indicated bybroken lines). In this case, since a worker can readily work on thecontrol panel 12 by riding on the top of the car 2, the maintenanceworkability is enhanced.

In the above-described embodiments 1 and 2, as shown in FIG. 6, thecontrol panel is disposed within control panel installable regions 16Aand 16B that do not interfere with the movement range 14 of the car 2and the proximity switch 10 and the hoistway device installation region15.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a right side elevational view of FIG. 6. The control panel maybe disposed within the control panel installable regions 19A and 19Bthat do not interfere with the movement range 17 of the proximity switch10 and the hoistway device installation region 18. Thus, the width, ofthe control panel installable regions 19A and 19B as viewed laterally inFIG. 7, varies according to position in the height direction.Accordingly, the cross-sectional area of a control panel may be changedto conform to the shape of the installation regions 19A and 19B. Thus,it is possible to reserve a satisfactory space for the control panel.

Further, in the embodiments 1 to 3, the control panel 12 is disposed ata position that is overlapped by the region projected from the proximityswitch 10 in the ascending/descending direction of the car 2. However,it is possible to provide the control panel at a position that is notoverlapped by the region projected from the carmounted equipment.Namely, in the case where the hoistway device projecting into thehoistway 1 is provided on the hoistway wall 1 a, it is possible todispose the control panel at a position where the hoistway device isprojected in the ascending/descending direction of theascending/descending body and out of the hoistway device installationregion. For example, in the case where a speed adjuster or a tensionpulley is disposed within the hoistway, it is possible to mount thecontrol panel utilizing the space below the tension pulley or above thespeed adjuster. Also, in such a case, it is possible to enhance theutility efficiency of the building by effectively utilizing the emptyspace above a below the hoistway device and at the same time to reducethe height of the building.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view showing an elevatorapparatus in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 9 is a view showing a structure of a primary part ofFIG. 8. In this example, the control panel 12 is supported by the carguide rails 5 through a plurality of support beams 21. The otherstructure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In such an apparatus, since the control panel 12 is supported by theguide rails 5 which are some of the stronger structural members of thehoistway 1 and which are installed with high precision, the controlpanel 12 may also be installed securely with high precision.

Fifth Embodiment

Next, FIG. 10 is a horizontal sectional view showing an elevatorapparatus in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus ofFIG. 10. In this example, a detection switch 22 for detecting whether adoor 12 a of the control panel 12 is closed is provided on the controlpanel 12. The detection switch 22 is connected to an managementcontroller (not shown) within the control panel 12, and the operatingmanagement mode of the elevator apparatus is switched over to themaintenance mode when the door 12 a is opened. Also, during operation inthe maintenance mode, the ascending/descending range of the car 2 isrestricted. The other structure is the same as that of the firstembodiment.

In such an apparatus, it is possible to prevent the car 2 from collidingwith the opened door 12 a of the control panel 12 by restricting thelowermost movement position of the car 2 during maintenance modeoperation to thereby enhance reliability.

Further, in the case where the control panel 12 is located in the upperportion of the hoistway 1 as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to avoid acollision between the door 12 a and the car 2 by restricting theuppermost movement position of the car 2 during operation in themaintenance mode.

Also, in the foregoing embodiments 1 to 5, the proximity switch 10 ofthe landing device 11 is used as the car-mounted device. However, in thecase where at least part of the car-mounted device such as a doordevice, ventilation device, lamp device or baggage receiving device forreceiving a long object or the like projects toward the hoistway wallfrom the car, it is possible to mount the control panel in the spaceabove or below the movement range of the projecting portion.

What is claimed is:
 1. An elevator apparatus comprising: a hoistwayhaving hoistway wall and a bottom portion; an ascending and descendingbody having a side wall portion facing said hoistway wall and acar-mounted device projecting toward said hoistway wall for said sidewall portion, said ascending and descending body being raised andlowered within said hoistway; and a control panel for controlling theascent and descent of said ascending and descending body, said controlpanel being disposed within said hoistway at a position overlapped by ahorizontal cross-section of said car-mounted device projected inascending and descending directions of said ascending and descendingbody and out of a range of movement of said car-mounted device in theascending and descending directions of said ascending and descendingbody.
 2. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidcontrol panel is installed below a lowermost movement position of saidcar-mounted device.
 3. The elevator apparatus according to claim 2,including a gap between a lower portion of said control panel and saidbottom portion of said hoistway.
 4. The elevator apparatus according toclaim 1, including a mounting bracket supporting said control panel onsaid hoistway wall, said mounting bracket having a gap between saidcontrol panel and said hoistway wall.
 5. The elevator apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said control panel is installed above anuppermost movement position of said car-mounted device.
 6. The elevatorapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control panel has across-section that varies in a vertical direction to conform with ashape of a control panel installable region that does not interfere witha range of movement of said car-mounted device.
 7. The elevatorapparatus according to claim 1, including a guide rail for guiding theascent and descent of said ascending and descending body, installedwithin said hoistway, and a support beam supporting said control panelon said guide rail.
 8. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said control panel has an openable door and a detection switchfor detecting whether the door is open or closed, an operatingmanagement mode of the elevator being switched to a maintenance modewhen said door is open to restrict the ascending and descending range ofthe car.
 9. An elevator apparatus comprising: a hoistway having hoistwaywall and a bottom portion; an ascending and descending body raised andlowered within said hoistway; a hoistway device located on said hoistwaywall and projecting into said hoistway; and a control panel forcontrolling the ascent and descent of said ascending and descendingbody, said control panel being disposed within said hoistway at aposition overlapped by a horizontal cross-section of said hoistwaydevice projected in ascending and descending directions of saidascending and descending body, and outside of an installation region ofsaid hoistway device.